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Lennie Echterling joins the Writing Your Resilience podcast to talk about the lessons he learned from landmine survivors, the difference between empathy and toxic positivity, the importance of fostering your posttraumatic growth, and how to use writing to build your resilience.
Lennie’s Bio: Lennie Echterling, Ph.D., is a Professor Emeritus at James Madison University with more than 40 years of experience in promoting resilience, particularly during crises and disasters. He has served as crisis counselor, consultant, and trainer following many traumatic stress events, including tornadoes and floods throughout the United States, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the tsunami in India, the 9/11 attacks at the Pentagon, the shootings at Virginia Tech, and landmine explosions in the Middle East. His awards include JMU’s Distinguished Faculty Award, Virginia Counselors Association’s Humanitarian Award, Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Award, Virginia Counselors Career Service Award among many others.
Resources mentioned during this episode:
The Paradox of Empathy: When Empathy Hurts
Thriving in a Time of Crisis
The Book of Forgiving: The Four-Fold Path Four Healing Ourselves and Our World by Desmond Tutu and Mpho Tutu
Writing to Heal with Laura Davis
Good Night Jung by Lennie Echterling
Episode Highlights
Connect with Lennie:
Email: [email protected]
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/
Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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Produced by Espresso Podcast Production
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If you have a complicated relationship with someone, how do you write about them? Should you craft a linear memoir that reads more like a journey or write something that mirrors your experience? Join me and Lara Lillibridge, author of Girlish, Mama, Mama, Only Mama, and The Truth of Unringing Phones, as we explore the impact of estrangement on the memoir writing process, how to protect your heart as you write about painful experiences, the power of publishing your story, as well as the a-ha Lara had about which part of the writing process actually heals you.
Lara’s Bio: Lara Lillibridge (she/they) is the author of The Truth About Unringing Phones: Essays on Yearning; Mama, Mama, Only Mama: An Irreverent Guide for the Newly Single Parent, and Girlish: Growing Up in a Lesbian Home,. Lara is a Creative Nonfiction Editor for HeartWood Literary Magazine. She holds an MFA from West Virginia Wesleyan College and is a mentor for AWP’s Writer to Writer.
In this episode:
Resources Mentioned During This Episode:
The True Meaning of Success with Courtney Maum
Where Rivers Part: A Story of My Mother’s Life by Kao Kalia Yang
New York Times article on Consent by Jill Cement
Episode Highlights
Connect with Lara
Website: http://laralillibridge.com/
Twitter: https://x.com/Only_Mama
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lara.lillibridge
Instagram/Threads: https://www.instagram.com/LaraLillibridge
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/
Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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Produced by Espresso Podcast Production
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Tia Levings joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to discuss her experience as a debut author, writing to heal without retraumatizing yourself, the gaslighting that happens in religion, and getting things off your chest and onto the page to educate others with your writing.
As you listen to this episode, consider the following questions: What would you need to do to claim your story? What would tell you it has legs? What would you need to do to see it from a wider lens? If it is a really tough story, how would you care for yourself as you work on it?
Tia is an author and guest expert who exposes the abuses in Christian Fundamentalism. She’s been quoted in Salon, the Huffington Post, and the New York Times and appeared in the hit Amazon docu-series, Shiny Happy People. Her memoir, A Well-Trained Wife, will be published August, 6, 2024 by St. Martin's Press. Online, Tia connects our current news headlines with high-control religious roots.
Episode Highlights:
Items mentioned in this episode:
The Best Way to Deal with End-of_year Angst (Blog post on writing in a vacuum)
Welcome to The Anti-Fundamentalist
Shiny Happy People where to find it
Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott
Dr. Ramani On Gaslighting
Plotting Your Novel with The Plot Clock
Deep Work by Cal Newport
Connect with Tia:
Website: https://tialevings.com
Tia’s Book: https://tialevings.com/book
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TiaLevingsWriter
Facebook: https://facebook.com/TiaLevingsWriter
Substack: https://tialevings.substack.com
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/
Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn
Produced by Espresso Podcast Production
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Katie Rose Guest Pryal joins the Writing Your Resilience Podcast to take a deep dive into what neurodiversity is and how it impacts writers.
Here are a few questions to ponder as you listen to this episode: What do you know about neurodiversity? Do you consider yourself to be neurodivergent? If you are, how does that impact the way you set up your writing life, what you write about, and how you see the world?
Katie Rose Guest Pryal, J.D., Ph.D., is a bipolar-autistic author, keynote speaker, law professor, and expert in mental health and neurodiversity. Her books include Life of the Mind Interrupted: Essays on Mental Health and Disability in Higher Education, the IPPY-Gold-winning Even If You’re Broken: Bodies, Boundaries, and Mental Health, and A Light in the Tower: A New Reckoning with Mental Health in Higher Education. She writes frequently for national magazines and speaks around the country about mental health and neurodiversity. She lives in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
Episode Highlights
Items mentioned during this episode:
Katie’s post about overwhelm: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzbTVgJgc5L/
Compton Cowboys: https://www.instagram.com/comptoncowboys/
Contact Katie:
Substack: https://krgpryal.substack.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/krgpryal/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krgpryal/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/krgpryal
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/
Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn
Produced by Espresso Podcast Production
Send us Fan Mail
Dr. Ramani Durvasula, author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People, shares her insights into narcissism, how narcissistic abuse survivors can heal, how to get support, and how to care for yourself when writing and promoting a book on tough topics.
Dr. Ramani’s Bio: Ramani Durvasula, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist in California, the founder and CEO of LUNA Education, Training and Consulting, and professor emerita of psychology at California State University Los Angeles. She is the New York Times bestselling author of It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People. She is also the author of multiple other books including Don’t You Know Who I Am: How to Stay Sane in the Era of Narcissism, Entitlement and Incivility and Should I Stay or Should I Go: Surviving a Relationship with a Narcissist. She has lectured and trained therapists around the world on best practices on working with clients experiencing narcissistic abuse and has developed a 36-hour virtual training and certification program in conjunction with PESI to train clinicians on how to use an Antagonism-Informed approach with clients experiencing narcissistic relationships. Dr. Durvasula hosts a popular YouTube channel with over 1.6 million subscribers, hosted the critically acclaimed podcast Navigating Narcissism, and is a featured expert on the digital media platform MedCircle. She has also been widely involved in the governance of the American Psychological Association, including the APA Leadership Institute for Women in Psychology and the APA Minority Fellowship Program.
Resources Mentioned During This Episode:
Dr. Ramani’s Healing Program
Healing from Gaslighting Course
Course on Narcissistic Abuse for Therapists
Dr. Ramani Network
Connect with Dr. Ramani
Website: https://doctor-ramani.com/
YouTube: @DoctorRamani
Instagram: @DoctorRamani
X@DoctorRamani
TikTok: @DoctorRamani
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/
Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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Produced by Espresso Podcast Production
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What does it mean to write the truth when your story includes trauma—and how do you do it without retraumatizing yourself or your readers?
That’s what I’ll explore with this week’s guest, Beth Docherty—a trauma-informed healthcare educator, musician, and emerging memoirist—as she shares her journey from research chemist to advocate for safer, more compassionate care. Together, we dive into one of the most important questions memoirists ask: How do we write about hard truths in ways that are honest, responsible, and healing? Get your notebook, open your heart, and get ready to explore nervous system regulation while writing, what your readers really need from you, and how to know when your story is ready for the world.
Episode Highlights
Resources Mentioned During this Episode:
Beth’s Bio: Beth Docherty is a chemist, musician, writer, and a passionate advocate. She is the Principal of The TRUST Project, a research and outreach initiative dedicated to educating medical professionals and students about the connections between trauma, health, and well-being. Beth lectures nationally at universities, conferences, medical facilities and public events, speaking on the importance of trauma-informed care. She is an active member of the Physical and Behavioral Health Action Team of the HEAL PA initiative, which aims to implement trauma-informed practices across Pennsylvania. Beth has also testified in legislative hearings to advocate for the rights of sexual assault and crime survivors. She is currently writing her first memoir, which explores her personal journey through sexual violence and trauma, how it impacted her healthcare, and why trauma-informed care is essential. Her essay on this topic is soon to be published in HuffPost.
Connect with Beth:
Click here to learn more about Free Your Voice, Fuel Your Motivation
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/
Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
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Produced by Espresso Podcast Production
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This is the 75th episode of the Writing and Resilience Podcast, and I would not have made it this far without your generous support of this podcast and my work. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
Now, about today’s episode. What if the key to writing through pain isn't pushing harder, but rather being radically kinder to yourself? That's what I'll explore with Dr. Risa Ryger, clinical psychologist, international speaker and founder of 93% Consulting. We explore what it really means to change and write through pain, not from a place of brutal self-judgment, but from a place of self-trust, curiosity, and compassion.
If you're navigating trauma in your writing, wrestling with your inner critic, or wondering how to begin without overwhelming yourself, this conversation is here to support you. Get ready to feel seen, affirmed, and gently challenged.
Episode Highlights
Resources Mentioned During this Episode:
Dr. Ryger’s Bio: Dr. Risa Ryger is a Clinical Psychologist, International Speaker, Author, Founder of 93% Consulting, and the Creator of The Disruptive Self-Ownership ProcessTM who served as a consultant psychologist for victim services. She is the host of the weekly Instagram Live series: Disruptive Conversations with Dr. Risa Ryger and she earned her Master of Science, Master of Philosophy, and Doctorate from Columbia University. Creator of the Self-Owned Mindset, she is an excerpt on change whose goal is to help women stop playing small and have the confidence and self-trust to powerfully step forward into their lives and say, I’ve got this.” Dr. Ryger is the proud mother of 2 amazing daughters and lives in NY with her husband and two dogs, Penelope and Sammy – the dog who smiles.
Connect with Dr. Ryger:
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/
Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn
Produced by Espresso Podcast Production
Send us Fan Mail
Have you ever felt like your creativity is blocked—but you know the problem isn’t your ideas, your schedule, or even your writing practice? What if your nervous system holds the key to unlocking the stories inside you?
In this episode, I’m joined by Jay DeMaio, a trauma-aware Internal Martial Arts teacher based in Charlottesville, Virginia. Together, we explore how Qigong—a gentle, meditative movement practice—can enhance creativity, help regulate your nervous system, and bring your body into deeper harmony so your writing can flow more freely. We also dig into my struggles with rest and boredom when doing things I know are good for me. Grab your pen, open your heart, and discover why slowing down might be the medicine your writing life truly needs.
Episode Highlights
Resources Mentioned During this Episode:
Jay’s Bio: Jay DeMaio is a trauma-aware Internal Martial Arts Teacher based in Charlottesville, VA. Jay holds a five-year certification in QiGong, Qi Healing and Internal Alchemy Meditation from Blue Willow World Healing Center. He has been training for over 15 years via direct transmission from Daoist QiGong Masters from the Dragon Gate Lineage School and the Mt EMei Lineage School. Through his online classes and in-person workshops, Jay guides gentle, empowering QiGong practices that connect the body to its innate healing wisdom and inner medicine. His therapeutic approach is informed by 5 Element Chinese Medicine and psychosomatic science while staying rooted in trauma awareness, deep presence, and compassion.
Connect with Jay:
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/
Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn
Produced by Espresso Podcast Production
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In this episode, I reconnect with the brilliant and multifaceted Sean Murphy—poet, fiction writer, founder of 1455 Literary Arts, director of the Center for Story at Shenandoah University, and host of the podcast Some Things Considered. Together, we explore what it means to create during challenging times, why writing is a long game built on endurance, and how generosity—both to others and to your own process—can sustain your creative spirit. We talk about literary citizenship, artistic joy, and the mindset shifts that help us keep going when the road feels steep. We also tackle one of my most persistent writing problems—something I know I’m not alone in: how to capture all those great ideas that come to me when I’m shampooing my hair.
Episode Highlights
Resources Mentioned During this Episode:
Sean’s Bio: Sean Murphy is founder of the non-profit 1455 Lit Arts, and directs the Center for Story at Shenandoah University. He has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered and been quoted in USA Today, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and AdAge. A long-time columnist for PopMatters, his work has also appeared in Salon, The Village Voice, Washington City Paper, The Good Men Project, Writer’s Digest, and others. His chapbook, The Blackened Blues, was published by Finishing Line Press in 2021. His second collection of poems, Rhapsodies in Blue was published by Kelsay Books in 2023. His third collection, Kinds of Blue, and This Kind of Man, his first collection of short fiction, published in 2024. He has been nominated four times for the Pushcart Prize, twice for Best of Net, and his book Please Talk about Me When I'm Gone was the winner of Memoir Magazine's 2022 Memoir Prize. To learn more, and read his published short fiction, poetry, and criticism, please visit seanmurphy.net/ and @bullmurph.
Connect with Sean:
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/
Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn
Produced by Espresso Podcast Production
Send us Fan Mail
Have you ever wondered what truly drives you? Are there parts of your personality that leave you puzzled, making you ask, "Why do I do that?" Have you been trying to improve an aspect of your life—especially your writing life—but it feels like no matter what you do, nothing changes? If you’re nodding along, get ready for a mind-blowing conversation with Human Design coach Maha Mamish.
In this episode, you'll learn what Human Design is, why I’m so passionate about it, and how it can transform the way you approach your life and creative process. You’ll also hear how it's already making a huge impact on my coaching clients. So, grab a pen, open your heart, and get ready to explore your unique operating system in a way that could change everything.
Episode Highlights
Resources Mentioned During this Episode:
Maha’s Bio: Maha Mamish is the owner of mishmish, an NYC-based think tank that promotes growth for sustainable brands via holistic business frameworks. This year mishmish launched mishmishfoods- a food brand that uses food experiences as a therapeutic modality for personal and collective healing, as well as Heirloom, a service working with top artists to sustainably transform and modernize family heirlooms. Her work sits at the intersection of entrepreneurship, design, wellbeing, and holism. After 17 years excelling in sales and business development in the global luxury interiors industry, she pursued advanced certifications in quantum coaching, relational presence, neuro-linguistics, holistic health & nutritional science, and crystal healing. She also published her book in 2021 titled "The Creative Entrepreneur: Use Your Sensitive Nature to Build a Highly Successful Business. Maha holds a master certification in human design via Robin Winn, a disciple of Karen Parker Curry who studied directly under Ra Uru himself.
Connect with Maha:
Instagram: @mishmishnyc
Website: www.mahamamish.com
Email: [email protected]
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Visit https://lisacooperellison.com/yourdesign/ and use promo code RESILIENCE to get 30% off your foundational report.
Building Better Memoir Scenes: https://janefriedman.com/building-better-memoir-scenes-with-lisa-cooper-ellison/
Connect with your host, Lisa:
Get Your Free Copy of Ditch Your Inner Critic: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/
Website | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | LinkedIn
Produced by Espresso Podcast Production
From the publisher's feed
The Writing Your Resilience Podcast is for anyone who wants to use the writing process to flip the script on the stories they’ve been telling themselves, because when we tell better stories about…
Every Thursday, host Lisa Cooper Ellison, an author, speaker, trauma-informed writing coach, and trauma survivor diagnosed with complex PTSD, interviews writers of tough, true stories, people who've developed incredible grit, and professionals in the field of psychology and healing who've studied resilience.
Over the past 7 years Lisa has taught writers how to write their resilience. Each time her clients and students have confronted the stories that no longer serve them, they’ve felt a little safer, become a little braver, and revealed more of their true selves. Now, with this podcast, she is creating a space for you to do this work too.
Equal parts instruction, motivation, and helpful guide, Writing Your Resilience is an opportunity for you to join a community of writers and professionals doing the work that helps us cultivate our authenticity and creativity.
More about Lisa Cooper Ellison: https://lisacooperellison.com
Get Your Free Ditch Your Inner Critic masterclass—your shortcut to a confident, S.H.I.F.T.ed mindset: https://lisacooperellison.com/subscribe/

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